OTTplay exclusive! Kaneez Surka reveals why she can't work in Bollywood

Popular stand-up comedian Kaneez Surka made her acting debut with the short film The Shaila(s) recently. The movie will release on Voot Select as a part of their film festival.

OTTplay got in touch with Kaneez ahead of her latest release and spoke about the movie. While Kaneez made her debut after acting in several stand-up comedy-based shows like Comicstaan, Ladies Up etc., she wasn't keen on pursuing her career in Bollywood later. In a free-wheeling chat, she discussed what factors prompted her to take the drastic call and much more.

Excerpts:

The Shaila(s) is your first short film. Tell me about your experience.

Just to let you know that in 2005, I did a cameo role in a movie called Dosti: Friends Forever. I’m laughing because it was a one-second role. It was too funny. I played Kareena Kapoor’s best friend in one scene. I remember, she bumped into Akshay Kumar and I had to pretend I was shocked.

It was really fun shooting with Neha Thakker (director) for The Shaila(s). Even with the budget constraints, she did a fantastic job. It was a four-day shoot in total. It wasn't that different from the other shoots that I've done. I was used to it. This was a short film and not a feature. I don't know what it would be like to shoot a feature like that. I know that it is a lengthy process, but that’s about it...

How were you approached for the project? Was it after somebody noticed you in one of your acts?

Neha Thakker - the director, creator and writer of the movie, actually got in touch with me because a friend of hers suggested my name. So they approached me in, I think, 2017 with the role. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this sounds perfect for me.’ I know this character because I just met so many women like her. So yeah, she thought I would be perfect for this role. I wanted to do the film, so here we are!

Tell me about your character. There’s still a lot of confusion regarding her when you look at the trailer...

It’s definitely a humorous take on the relationship between an affluent woman from high society and her domestic help. And this character Lexie, her full name is Lakshmi, is trying to keep up with this high society expectations. The whole story is about her wanting to throw a tea party because if you throw the best tea party, that's how you move up in the race of that society. She is on the lookout for the right domestic help. Her name also happens to be Lakshmi, so she changes the domestic help’s name to Shaila.

Wow! Are you serious?

Yeah, a lot of cultures follow that. The domestic help cannot have the same name as people in the household. I also found out in this movie. That's actually a common practice. I was like Jesus! The movie really takes a look at the dynamics and the boundaries of class and caste. You have such an intimate relationship with the domestic helps in your home - they know so much about you. However, people create these class and caste boundaries and it's a very complex relationship. Lexi is also very lonely. Her husband is not there for her at all. So she also forms this sort of emotional bond and companionship with the domestic help and so the movie is really just about a good dynamic between these two ladies. There is a very intimate bond, but there are still lots of boundaries between the two because of class and caste differences. So we shed light on that in a comedic way.

You have come from a comic background. Sadly, people cannot see you doing anything apart from comedy. How do you feel about that? Do you plan to break the stereotype?

I want to be a comedy actor. I enjoy doing comedy. I don't feel the need to break that stereotype at all. Like even if an opportunity came and it was interesting and it had nothing to do with comedy, I would explore it. But I don't feel like I'm pigeon-holed in comedy. It’s what I do, enjoy and I am good at it. That's what I want to also make my name as. So I don't feel like I need to break any perception. I would love to do more comedy roles because I enjoy doing that. However, this is just the beginning of my acting journey, hopefully. I might feel differently later on, I don't know. However,  right now, I'm happy to do more comic roles.

When I started my journey, there was no comedy industry. My dream was to act in comedy roles. It happened that I had taken the stand-up, improv comedy route. I did some sketches and stuff, but that's still very basic. When I got this short film, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I'm kind of like doing what I wanted to do from the beginning.’

We see the use of monochrome colours, at least in the trailer. Do you feel that kind of a filter is important to tell a tale?

Neha wanted to romanticise the feel of the show. It’s also because of the darkness in this relationship. It is dark. I mentioned before - the caste and class issues, the statuses and the power dynamics that exist and the manipulation that happens in these kinds of dynamics, relationships. The black and white contributed to that darkness in the setup. When you watch the movie, even the music that she's used, it's almost eerie, horror-like. She wanted the audience to feel a little bit uncomfortable, which is why she made those choices in music. It’s to shed light on the darkness of this relationship and the loneliness and the desperation. It was a fantastic choice. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable while I watched it.

A character needs to be extremely strong in a short film. Were you involved in the process of building your character or did you stick to the script?

The script was great. There might be moments where I did my improv comedy, but not with the script, like maybe with the acting part. In the first one and a half minutes, you know what's happening. A couple of people have watched this movie in the past, and I've got such great feedback. I didn't expect the feedback again. I just did this project because I thought, well, maybe it'll just be a fun thing to do. There was no plan of it being anywhere, so when Voot Select decided to showcase this as part of the film festival, I was so happy that they're giving it space for short films.

Is this how you imagined making your acting debut?

No, I always thought that I would play someone's best friend character. If I ever did think about acting, those are probably the opportunities. So, yeah, again, I never thought it would be in a short film. And I knew that even when they approached me, I was like, ‘Oh, I didn't even think this was a thing.’

After The Shailas was screened, did you get more projects your way?

I was offered one role in a movie. Nothing happened after that. The movie got shelved. You can't ask me to do a normal Bollywood movie because I don't speak Hindi. By the way, I'm also very aware of the fact that my language is a bit of a hindrance in India, at least. There is going to only be limited to projects that I can be a part of.

You could learn Hindi or explore another industry. What is your pick?

I’m exploring another industry. I could learn Hindi but my accent is always going to be there. Doing comedy in another language is hard. Even if I learn the language, it won’t come as naturally to me.

What would your upcoming projects be?

I have a web series which will be released soon. Apart from that, I’m in talks with filmmakers in South Africa and the US for some projects.